Titan posts 1Q loss, sees challenging year ahead

Titan reported a EUR4.3m net loss compared with a year-earlier profit of EUR24.8m, the company said in a statement. Sales fell 12 per cent to EUR252.9 m. Depreciation of the euro in the first quarter resulted in a EUR14m exchange-rate loss, according to the statement.

“2011 will be another challenging year,” the company said in the statement. “In Greece, measures taken to improve public finances and the cutbacks to public investment programs are expected to lead to a further substantial decline in construction activity.”

The building recovery in the US is expected to be slow and “no significant” improvement in operating results is seen, Titan said. Egypt performed well in the first three months of the year, allowing “cautious” optimism, and Turkey’s strong economy indicates positive prospects, according to the statement. Exports to Libya, which in recent years had helped
mitigate the sales drop at home, ceased after civil war broke out in the
country earlier this year.Titan expects a “negative impact” from higher energy costs, according to the statement.